DaySpring sale draws tourists

Janelle Jessen/Siloam Sunday Sherri Brooker (left), DaySpring Outlet Store manager and warehouse sale coordinator, and Terri Black, store cashier and warehouse sale site manager, unpacked decorative wall hangings for the upcoming annual warehouse sale.
Janelle Jessen/Siloam Sunday Sherri Brooker (left), DaySpring Outlet Store manager and warehouse sale coordinator, and Terri Black, store cashier and warehouse sale site manager, unpacked decorative wall hangings for the upcoming annual warehouse sale.

The annual DaySpring warehouse sale is a tradition that has become a tourism event in Siloam Springs.

The sale, which will take place on Nov. 21 through 23 in the DaySpring warehouse, is expected to draw at least 6,000 customers from as far away as Tennessee and New Mexico, according to Sherri Brooker, DaySpring Outlet Store manager and warehouse sale coordinator.

Tour buses are bringing groups of people from as far away as Oklahoma City and church groups are coming from a 200 mile radius that includes Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, she said. DaySpring also tries to promote the sale on the Interstate 49 corridor to bring more people to Siloam Springs, according to Brenda Turner, vice president of communication and administration for the company.

"It's a big outing for a lot of people -- it's moms and sisters and aunts and daughters, it's girls day out, it's girls weekend," Brooker said.

While the shoppers are in Siloam Springs for the DaySpring sale, they have a larger economic impact on the community, according to Turner.

"All these shoppers are buying gas, eating at restaurants, staying at the hotels, they are participating in the sale and that is helping the community," Turner said. "The tour buses are great about that too, sometimes they will bring customers, go have lunch and then come back."

The sale is a longstanding tradition for DaySpring that goes back for years, but it has only been held at the DaySpring warehouse for the past four years. Many customers have built the sale into an annual event and brag about how many years they have been coming, while others talk about how excited they are to discover the sale for the first time, Brooker said.

This year's sale will include more than 1,500 unique items, marked down in price from 50 to 95 percent, Brooker said. Prices will range from 50 cents to $30, she said.

The DaySpring Outlet store is open year round, but the warehouse sale includes special items, Turner said.

"There are always things that are exclusive to this sale that you wouldn't be able to get at any other place, which I think is a big deal for the people who come," Turner said.

Calenders, Bible journals, note cards and Christmas cards are staples of the sale, but the number of home decor products is growing and becoming very popular, Brooker and Turner said. Another item Brooker expects to be popular this year is a new product that combines a day planner, journal and devotional into one book.

"We have a lot of new baby products we haven't had in the past, we have some hoodie towels and some blankets and some really neat gift-able items, and lots of great books to choose from this year," Brooker said.

The sale also functions as a ministry opportunity, Turner said. This year it coincides with the prayer walk where DaySpring staff will be walking around campuses, praying for customers, products and the community, Brooker said. Employees will also be ready to pray with customers, if requested, during the sale, Brooker said.

As soon as this year's sale is over, Brooker will begin planning for the 2020 sale.

"For me it's pretty much a year round event because it takes that much time and energy and it takes a lot of people," she said. "I would say most every hand at DaySpring will have touched this in some way."

DaySpring Cards is located at 21156 Arkansas Highway 16. Parking for the sale, with shuttle services, will be available at the corporate offices on the east side of the road and at the warehouse on the west side of the road. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 9 to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

General News on 11/17/2019